Luffy and his crew face a terrifying evil that threatens to destroy them: One of their own. An encounter with Marines leads to burdens, secrets, then the emergence of a legendary, awful power. Post-Thriller Bark/Pre-Sabaody Archipelago. A few OCs. -Under Major Construction 2013-

A/N: (Beginning) In celebration for the newly arrived final installment of the Whitebeard War Saga, the Marineford Arc, and the newest opening ("One Day" by Rootless), I have decided to get off of my lethargic butt and finish writing this chapter. Seriously this has been half-way done for about 4 or so months…So HUZZAH! Go new OP opening, go Marineford arc, and go me for being able to stay away from the manga for the past 20 released chapters!

So, I have learned NOT to write such long chapters (oh wait, I like doing that!), I have learned that summer homework is a pain in the 'word I should not say', I have learned that I hated with a passion trying to decide Usopp's fate then writing it down (seriously, that is the single point that took me this whole time…), and I also discovered that I love writing about moonlit scenes that hint at romance but do not actually touch it.

Also…hm…oh yeah! Here is the huge, ratifying speech-thing I typed up and am putting on all of my next chapters. Note: I NEVER would abandon my stories. Lazy, stubborn, and boring I am, but I do not go back on my ideas. It may take a while, but the story will always go on. Especially considering I have so much I want done in here. Originally I wanted to start an idea for a story, but since then I've been Thinking, and it has (in my head) grown into such more than my plans dictated for it. I have so much I want to say, and so little time that I feel inspired enough to overcome my bouts of laziness and write it down. So, bear with me, and be patient as I am. I will not forget, (how can I?), and I will continue, whatever it takes and no matter what happens.

I Promise.

Sora: I'M ALIVE! *collapses in exhaustion*

Robin: Well, I suppose now I should give the Disclaimer, seeing as how Writer-san has worn herself out completely. I know for a fact that Sora-san Does not own any parts of One Piece nor any trademarks of the series. Have a wonderful evening and summer, minna!

9. Results

~one hour later~

The deck of the normally rambunctious ship was quiet in tense silence. No crew member was active on the open deck like was normal; most were waiting quietly around the large table in the dining hall, silently awaiting news of their friends. They had been like this for a good hour or so now, since none of the attackers had lived long enough or stayed on board to continue the assault on the Sunny Go, none of the Straw Hats had any need to search them out. The Marine vessel had disappeared as quickly as it had come, but no one took much note on the matter. More pressing matters were at hand, such as the state of their sharpshooter, and captain.

There were five heads in the dining hall, none whom spoke and all attempting to make sense of what had just occurred barely an hour earlier. Robin sat near the head of the table, cradling hurriedly placed bandages from her stab wounds in her right arm. The ache of her pain was nothing compared to the haunted atmosphere around the rest of the pirates.

Nami sat motionless, her blank gaze set on her Log Pose which never moved in the slightest, yet she stared at it as though lost in the delicate glass orb of the compass. Franky's huge torso was bent over the table, drumming his fingers impatiently on the carved wood-work, a frown covering his usually optimistic face. He was the only one moving at all in the crowded room.

Brooke sat near the corner; he had taken out his violin but was unable to find the words to speak, so it remained on the table, silent. Only the swordsman was alone: Zoro was outside, still trying to calm down from his earlier scene. Chopper was operating on Usopp and Luffy individually, though none could say if the condition of either boy at the moment.

Sanji leaned up against the wall, avoiding eye contact, and puffing violently on a cigarette stub as though intent to let all of his anger out on the small nicotine roll. His earlier rage was only quieted by his pressing addiction, and he was contemplating checking on Chopper's progress yet again. His worry for both the young captain and sniper was urgent, but there was also the condition of Sora herself to worry about as well. After the scene which unfolded involving her and Luffy, he was the only one so far to have been able to show any bit of normality towards the younger teen, although it was most likely his natural chivalrous nature which caused him to act the way he had.

~one hour earlier~

It was Sanji who had finally realized that someone needed to do something, and had run over to the collapsed boy first. After he moved, the rest followed suit, and all of them tried very hard to keep themselves acting as normal as possible.

No one could look at the girl without a hint of worry, but they all tried to not show their fear as Franky carefully took the bleeding teen from the cook's arms and carried him off to the small doctor. Zoro, in a wave of uncontrolled anger, had marched over to the still kneeling girl on the deck of the ship with a terrifying gleam in his green eyes. Anger made his voice shake somewhat as he yelled words of anger and spite at her small form.

"What the h- was that? What the h- are you trying to pull?" He grabbed the front of her shirt and lifted her off of the ground to be at his eye level, and she dangled soundlessly a foot from the ground in his muscled grip. "What did you do to our captain? What did you do to Luffy? You tried to kill him!" He shook her hard, and she still did not reply. Her grey-brown orbs looked vacant, and she simply kept muttering non-coherent words to no one in particular.

"I…I wouldn't…I'm sorry…I…couldn't have…I'm so sorry…" her lean body trembled, and Zoro watched as fat tears began to fall out of her non-blinking eyes, but she seemed not even to hear his words. Unable to sit back and watch, no matter how shocked he was at the display of power earlier, the blonde chef strode over to the swordsman and kicked him soundly in the jaw.

With a sickening crack the steel-toed shoe met with Zoro's face, and for a moment he was stunned into silence. His face did not change in expression, but his grip loosened on the front of her shirt, and his eyes turned away from the small form dangling limply from his grasp. As his fist released the girl, she fell into the suited man's outstretched arms. He grimaced and his malice filled eyes burned daggers into the swordsman's body as he stood there, staring off to the side to avoid looking anymore at her.

The blonde's visible eye became shadowed with cold anger, and his grip on her bent form tightened protectively as he spoke softly towards the swordsman.

"Don't you dare treat a lady like that. Ever. Or I swear, I will kill you; and Luffy won't be around to stop me." The cook's cool voice held an underlying note of malice which the swordsman knew was true, and Sanji turned away from the silent man and walked towards the medical ward with Sora held firmly in his grasp.

The swordsman was left on deck, surrounded by his comrades who all still were in shock, all of the sudden action having left them breathless and without speech.

It was too much for them to take in at one time, but the stark quiet could not be held. The pain of her ignored injuries being too much for her to hold back any longer, Robin fell to her knees on the upper deck, and gasped with the sting of the wounds. This action allowed the remaining crewmembers to restore a bit of normality to the situation, as Brooke and Nami rushed over to help her to the infirmary.

As Nami helped Robin to her feet by supporting her shoulder and Brooke jumped about nervously attempting to be of some assistance, Zoro was left standing awkwardly in the center of the grassy deck below. The other two, attempting to ignore the swordsman's obvious situation, helped Robin into the dining hall, which left Zoro alone on the deck; his eyes now trained on the grass before his feet.

He glared at the ground, hundreds of different emotions swelling up inside of him, threatening to burst. Zoro was not an emotional man, not anything of the sort. Normally, he would instantly try and kill anyone who claimed him to be a touchy-feely kind of person. But right now…right now he felt like the world had come to an end.

Or, at least, as close to the end as you can get before falling off.

He could not feel his legs, blankly he reminded himself that he should tell Chopper that later, then scoffed at himself in his head. He was angry, angrier than he had been in a long time. He normally looked angry, but right now, he was absolutely PO'd.

He had lost his temper at Sora, he had threatened her right in front of everyone, and then not even done a thing about it. He had let Sanji, that ero-cook, kick him. Kick him – straight in the jaw, and not even bothered to block or fight back. He had put all of the blame on Sora, and he still did, right now. He could not tell what it was, but he just could not think straight at the moment. He was even aware that he had done a horrible, terrible thing right then, but could not think of a way to fix his mistake. Outraged at himself, at Sora, and for the crew for not being able to do anything, he grabbed the hilt of Sandai Kitetsu and in one swift stroke sliced a deep, long gash in the main mast, haphazardly diagonal.

Holding the sword in his left hand, he realized after a minute of standing there, staring at the mark he had made, that he was shaking. His hand was shaking, and with a pained groan, he slowly slid the katana back into its sheath. It was at this moment, the moment that he felt as though he could burst with the unrelenting urge to release these feelings from inside of him, that he screamed.

He yelled, a single, long, and pained scream of pain, and of anguish. So many of the emotions he could not convey echoed in the unnatural sound; sadness for his friends, confusion at this girl, terror at his helplessness, and anger. Anger overran every one, yet he could not even tell what he was angry at, or whom. He did not care, as his holler echoed across the vast ocean, he thought to himself, let the whole d- crew could hear this weakness, I deserve it. I deserve this.

Nor did he care about anything else. More than anything, he was scared.

Scared that he would not be able to protect those he cared most about, and those whom he respected, and trusted. He was scared at his own anger, and at his inability to tell what was really happening. He was scared that he would not see his captain's ridiculous, smiling face again. Scared that that long-nosed lying idiot would never cower in fear behind him and the other stronger fighters again, that the liar would not be there to tell about his 'heroic' adventures to the little reindeer who adored him so.

He was scared at his own rage, his rage that he did not know if he could keep it from hurting others. He had come so close to attacking Sora, and gave her no chance at all. He simply blamed everything on her at once, the girl whom he had saved from the Marines, the weird, funny girl who had vanished randomly for a week then returned and startled him so much. The brown-haired girl who had fought with Franky over a ridiculous thing, then come out alive somehow. The girl who had teased with Zoro about his fighting with Sanji, who had come to be so close to all of the crew in the past several days. The girl whose past was as mysterious as her power, whose secrets were as ever changing as those strange, dark eyes of hers.

He couldn't keep his own rage back from hurting her, threatening the girl who only minutes earlier he had been talking to about protecting those you care about, and fighting for what is right.

Zoro clenched his teeth together, and painfully thought about all of these things as they whirled past his overtired brain, and still could not come up with a reason to hate her. But then, why did he hate her so much right now?

Sora, the girl who could actually learn something from Nami about her complicated map-making; who relaxed with Robin and begged her for stories about the world; who fought tooth-and-nail with Franky over absurd things; who even scared Brooke with her demon-face when he tried to look at her panties; who actually taught that blond ero-cook how to cook something half-way decent; who made the little doctor shriek with pleasure and insult her when she complimented him on his extensive knowledge of medicines; and who laughed right along with Luffy and Usopp when they all caught a ridiculously large fish and played pranks on the others.

Sora, who had just gotten Usopp shot in the heart.

Sora, the happy, smiling girl who helped Zoro escape from the Marines when her own life was at risk.

Sora, who had just gotten Luffy possibly killed by the one thing that could not harm him.

Sora, who just wanted to be useful, to protect those she cared most about.

Sora, the terrifying person who tried to kill Luffy with her power.

Slowly turning away from the large gash in the mast, the swordsman walked over to the railing, and stared out over the sea. Letting the ocean breezes waft over his hot, tired body, he tried desperately to calm down. Closing his eyes, he pushed away all other thoughts. He let his mind wander in the darkness he created, let it take his well-trained mental person to a place where he could not be bothered by outside actions. As he sank his body to the green grass, he laid his head against the rail, and let himself automatically move into a meditative state. Now he could think. Now he could figure this issue out, and be done with this irritable mess which that girl had brought with her.

He drifted off in that position, and even Robin, with her many eavesdropping talents, did not spy on the green-haired man as he sat there on deck.

~One Hour Later (again)~

The door to the dining hall creaked open slowly as the little reindeer entered the dim room. All eyes were instantly focused on his small form as he carefully walked up to the table and took a seat opposite of the navigator. His small hooves were locked together solemnly, and he did not meet any of the pirates' hopeful eyes.

Franky's drumming stopped as he looked eagerly into the reindeer's downward face, his usual smile absent from his lips. Nami's head snapped to attention, while Brooke and Robin observed quietly, prepared for any news. Sanji's hand tightened around his cigarette stub, and he avoided looking at the doctor's small form.

Taking a deep breath, Chopper spoke. "I finished operating on Usopp and Luffy, to remove the bullets. Luffy's wasn't so bad, the bullet seemed almost to fall out of him, but it had broken off and I had to search for the other fragment. It was imbedded in his left lung, and I was able to remove it. He's stable, but very weak." The doctor turned and looked at the other crew members to see their expressions.

"The fact that it didn't damage his heart was a miracle in itself. The bullet stopped barely a millimeter from the heart; it was very strange. It was…well…" the little doctor glanced nervously at his hooves. "…it was like, he returned to rubber just in time to save his life. Had the bullet pierced his heart in that one spot…" His eyes became lost in the shadow of this large hat. "…I don't think I could have saved him."

Half of a breath was exhaled by the whole room, for they still needed news on the condition of their long-nosed sniper. However, this new information raised an important matter which had questions that had to be answered. Robin watched the little doctor carefully, and finding that he had paused for a moment to gather himself, she ventured a question.

"Doctor-san, are you saying that Sora took captain-san's rubber powers, then returned them right as he was being shot? How is that possible if the bullet was already inside of him?" Robin's question caused a slight changed in the atmosphere. Heads turned towards the small doctor in puzzlement at this problem, and needed answers. He looked down at his hooves again, and with a frown on his face recounted the surgery to the black-haired woman.

"Well, when I was operating, remember how I said that the bullet fragmented and I had to get into his lung to get that other part? Well, it looked to me from the tissue damage that the bullet reached the soft tissue right before the heart; acting like a normal body. Then, just as it made it to the heart, the tissues regained their rubber-like qualities, and so the bullet was bounced back like normal. It broke, and the fragment ricocheted off of two of his ribs and into his lung, with the main half stuck in the position a millimeter from his heart. My theory was proved because when I opened Luffy up, his body was rubber again. When Franky brought him in to me, I almost didn't believe him about Sora doing that to Luffy. But, when I saw the inner bullet damage…I knew that he was telling the truth. The bullet had destroyed tissue just like a normal bullet shot, and injuries don't lie." Chopper stopped for bit, letting this news soak into the people surrounding him.

Considering the information provided by the little doctor, Robin glanced over at Sanji for a moment, her eyes showing her concern for the blonde cook regarding this new development. Hearing that it was indeed Sora who caused this situation to occur could not be easy on the young cook, and she feared that he may react in a similar fashion to their swordsman from earlier. Seeing no change other than he had stopped puffing so heavily on his cigarette, she grew a familiar thoughtful expression on her tan face, one which she adopted when faced with something she had read about and was trying to recall information on that subject. As Robin let her thoughts take her partway from the conversation, Franky grew more and more frustrated.

The blue-haired shipwright was impatient; he had to hear about Usopp's condition and did not like the unnecessary stalling the little deer was doing. He didn't care if it was Sora who had caused this or not, he had quite a one-track mind like a certain straw-hat wearing captain, and he was determined to hear about his good buddy. Smacking his hand down on the table-top, he loudly insisted, "Eh? And what about Usopp-bro? How's he? He's fine, right?" No one spoke, and Chopper's eyes became shielded under the hat once more, until nothing could be seen of his face save his bright blue nose.

"Usopp…is stable. The bullet didn't stay in him, it passed cleanly through, and I managed to patch up his heart where it pierced." Giant, watery brown eyes looked up at the surrounding pirates, too overcome with realization and relief to hold back the steady stream of water now freely flowing down the brown fur. "He's gonna be fine. He just…needs bed rest and medication for the pain…but he'll be fine." He just kept ranting, unable to stop, the happiness finally overtaking him.

As Franky practically lept off of where he was sitting to bring the little pirate into a near death-grip hug, the reindeer began to smile amidst the onslaught of tears and just began chanting, "He's gonna be fine, he's gonna be fine!" Very loudly in celebration and joy. Franky immediately joined him and the duo began rocking back and forth over the table in emotional outbursts as the tense atmosphere in the room dissolved.

Though instead of chanting about Usopp, the cyborg's words also consisted of, "I'm not crying, nobody look at me! I'm not crying, I've got something in my eyes!" as the rest the pirates around the room felt a heavy burden fall off of their shoulders. Nami banged her head on the table wordlessly in irritation, and proceeded to yell at Chopper for 'almost giving her a heart attack', but while she cursed the absent sharpshooter for worrying her, tears ran down her smooth face and she smiled.

Sanji's head dipped a bit further into shadows as a smile broke out across his face, and his one visible eye closed in relief. "Baka…having us worry like that." He muttered to himself. "When he is up and moving again, I'll have to kick his a- for that." His comment, though very quiet, was picked up by the sensitive reindeer ears and caused the concerned doctor to shriek at the cook in comic fear. Madly yelling something like 'you'll do no such thing, he's not even able to breathe properly yet' at the blonde, Sanji had to raise his hands up in an apologetic manner to stop the little deer from wailing his small hooves on him in defiance to the amused threat.

As the skeleton in the corner rose and loudly called for a celebration, carefully picking up his violin and beginning to play a tune with joy and excitement, the quiet historian was left mainly ignored in the developing partying around her. Lost in a world of her own thoughts, she didn't notice their celebrations until a mug was put in-front of her on the table. Looking up for a moment, she saw Sanji, unsurprisingly, and he apparently had decided to reward everybody with special drinks that night for their celebration of the good news on their injured crewmates.

"Robin-schwan, here is a drink I made with all of my HEART!" He spun for a moment in love-mode as he moved to Nami and repeated the procedure, then settled down as he served the other three. Chopper and Franky had apparently decided to forget their earlier outbursts and decided to party well, as they downed their drinks with fervor and unanimously demanded more, for which Sanji yelled at them for. Robin had to smile as she watched her crewmates recover from the flux of events from only a few hours prior. They truly were unlike any others she had seen, she fondly surmised as she watched Nami grow an anger tick at the turquoise-haired cyborg and little doctor as they decided to suddenly have a drink off of cola. As Nami comic-angerly knocked their heads together and they complained, Brooke played on in the background, his tune lively and joyous.

She wondered for a moment whether she should break this happy mood they had recovered, though she knew that the issue would have to come to light at sometime. She could not help but chuckle at their antics, and how easily they came back from the brink of despair. These people…truly are special. She decided, for now, to let them be. She would raise the point of what to do about Sora, and revealing more about her powers another time. For now, Robin realized as she looked around her at the smiling faces of her nakama, things had to stay this way. At least, for a little while longer.

~Later that evening~

As the last of the crew to leave the dining hall, Robin walked slowly. Her injured arm had been tended to by a concerned Chopper. It was relieving to hear his squeals of worry over the appendage as she was treated by the young doctor, and was glad that things were beginning to feel back to normal. If Chopper could focus so much energy into just these small wounds, then their captain and sniper were in good enough condition for him to not have to worry.

They had partied all day and into that evening, even though the two of them who had been so horribly injured just that morning were soundly asleep right next door. The doctor had told the others that they were on heavy sedatives, and shouldn't be awake until tomorrow afternoon at the least. Chopper had also announced, after a curious Franky had insisted on seeing his fellow mechanic that evening, no one was to disturb either Luffy or Usopp until they woke up on their own. He insisted that they needed as much rest as possible, and that strain on their bodies was definitely unneeded right now.

He told a disheartened Franky that once they woke up tomorrow afternoon, that they could go in and see them. He also informed the present members that Luffy ought to make a full recovery by the week's end, and Usopp in a few days. Even though Usopp had lost more blood and it was more serious than Luffy's had been, Luffy's body did not have any resistance to bullets, so his condition was more sensitive right now than that of the sharpshooter's. To this information they all cheered and had another round of cola, Sanji having quickly decided to stop serving the boys so much extra drink and kept himself busy tending to dinner and with any needs of the two females.

Earlier in the evening the subject of Sora had been brought up by Sanji, as he was persistent on her condition as well as the other two. Chopper assured him that she was fine; she had just collapsed and needed some rest. They others did not stress the topic and the girl was quickly forgotten in the happy atmosphere of the warm kitchen as Sanji served another round of drinks.

After partying into the night, Nami finally reminded them that they still needed to be on the lookout for more Marine ships, and so they trooped out of the dining hall one by one, each one finished celebrating in his or her own way.

As she passed through the open doorway, she decided to go and read some material on devil fruit powers in the lookout post, as she had already volunteered to have first watch for the evening. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced down to her left, and saw the familiar flash of green which was their swordsman sitting cross-legged and leaning against the wall. Turning her head slightly to face the man, she stated, " I suppose that you already know the condition… of our captain and sharpshooter?"

His closed eyes faced upwards, seemingly ignoring the archeologist's presence. She looked away from his form.

"Then you also now know exactly how our young devil fruit user has fared, and that her power also saved our captain's life." Robin spoke without her usual interested air; it was an air of someone who is trying to be calm, yet the seriousness of her words were meant to hit their mark.

As she began walking towards the Crow's Nest, she heard the swordsman speak in his usual, grumbled tone. "…From when he walked in the door."

Robin kept walking silently, but a small smile played in the corner of her mouth, as faint as it may be.

~Near midnight~

The sound of the waves lapping up against the hull created a calming pulse as the pale girl watched the sky grow darker and darker with each passing minute. Soon, the moon will rise. She stood leaning against the railing at the bow of the ship, her thoughts entirely on the night. I wonder if it will finally be full… As she calmly gazed at the black night sky, a lone figure's stare followed her silhouette from above, his pale green hair darkened by the absence of light.

It was Zoro's turn for watch, as he had once again declined Robin's offer to take his shift. She probably only asked because of what happened today with that girl…d-. Unusual as it may seem, he just couldn't drift off into that quiet sanctuary of sleep. That's probably a good thing. I mean, I am supposed to be on watch right? It pretty much kills the point if I actually sleep… he sighed at this thought, then recalled the real reason he had decided to keep watch: to see her. Oh s-. That sounds so weird, like something that ero-cook would do…jeez. He sat up straighter as the figure below moved a little, rising up for a moment as though expecting something, then letting her body lay back onto the rail again in apparent disappointment.

I wonder what she's looking at…or for. Zoro glanced over to where he assumed her sight to be set on, and frowned. Almost whispering to himself, he murmured "There's not even anything th…" He stopped, noticing a change far in the distance over the water. A bright orb was peaking over the still sea, casting a peaceful glow over the dark waters. It crept higher and higher into the sky with each minute, brightening the ship's deck enough after a while to let Zoro make out her body and facial features. She's…smiling? He studied her under this new lighting. Indeed, a hint of a smile played on her lips, and her now fully forest-green eyes seemed to sparkle in the white light casted by the pale sphere.

Eh? She waited up all this time for the moon… Muttering something about women and strange behavior he slumped down in his seat in the weight room, still in a position to see the girl below, and contented himself with thinking upon the past week, and today's… events. I still can't believe that that marshmallow has that kind of power… He shifted uneasily around, trying desperately to get into a comfortable position to rest. It didn't work. Cheh. Whatever…I guess that it just took me by surprise, that's all. Looking down again at the lone female, he recalled the past week and tried to use that to fall into the void of sleep. So that's how this craziness started…humph… it figures. Leave it to a girl to screw things up…

Zoro looked back down through the window to check on the girl below. Craning his neck to get better view he was surprised to find her slumped over the rail, deeply asleep in the same relaxed position that she was watching the sea in. That's almost as bad as when Ace fell asleep in the middle of the meal…Zoro thought while sweat-dropping about that particular memory. Falling asleep while half-standing up and watching the moon…that takes some effort.

He sighed to himself, remembering that stuff like this really shouldn't be coming from a guy who can down more than 20 jugs of ale and still remain completely sober, then sleep through some of the most ridiculous weather patterns on the Grand Line. Sighing to himself, he mentally noted that he should probably go down and get her before she falls off the ship, knowing that she can't swim and all. That's right…that thing with her…power… Well, that was a shocker… Zoro grimaced at the fact; it was only a few hours later and none of the rest of the crew including himself could get over the event, and none of them had been able to really figure out what to make of her now, knowing how dangerous she was.

…Ugg…I really should to talk to her. Right now everyone still thinks that I hate her. He rubbed his head experimentally, and scratched it for a moment as he thought. Now that I've calmed down, I guess it couldn't hurt to talk to the little shrimp… Sighing heavily with the extra effort, he lifted himself off of the bench he had been lounging on and made his way quietly down the rope latter to the deck below. Trying his best to be quiet as he walked up the stairs and approached her smaller form, he walked up beside her and leaned his back against the railing, letting the moonlight hit his dark clothing.

Opening his mouth, he tried to think of how to start out and was lost for words. What the heck am I doing? What am I supposed to say to her, 'oh yeah, sorry for earlier about yelling like that, I'll try harder to control my anger in the future'? This is ridiculous…I don't even know what to say…Before he could manage any words, she interrupted his inner controversy.

"It's a beautiful night tonight, isn't it Zoro?" He turned his head to the left to stare at her, one eyebrow raised in slight question. Lifting her head off of her arms she looked up at the moon as she spoke, a dreamy sort of expression on her half-awake face. The white light of the perfect circle in the sky shone on her face and clothes brightly, making her pale face seem almost to glow.

The swordsman looked at her, and studied her face for a moment, unsure of what to make of this unexpected question. Then the man turned his head further to follow her gaze upwards. After taking a look at the sphere for himself, he supposed that it was rather a good view from where they were standing on deck. With the pale light shining onto the grass and wooden planks of the deck, it gave the ship an almost ethereal look. He wasn't quite sure how to answer her, but he figured that this was better than him not saying anything at all.

"Yeah…it is, I guess." Both people, girl and man, stood there in silence, staring out over the open water and watching the light of the moon play in the waves of the water below.

"You know…there is a storm coming soon." Without adverting her gaze, she addressed the swordsman with the same calm demeanor as before.

"…huh." He half-grunted in acknowledgment of her words. He also did not look at the girl as he replied. "Well…it's not here yet."

She smiled faintly, enjoying the cool breeze coming across the ocean as it blew through her chocolate and hazel-colored hair. "I guess then…we should enjoy this evening, before it arrives. Ne, Zoro-kun." Her words were more of a statement than a question, but the swordsman replied none-the-less.

"…yeah. It's a d- nice night."

000000000

A/N: (Ending) 0.0…um…Ooops. Well, I really wanted to get this chapter up tonight, and I am still in the middle of writing the end to this scene so…hehe, I suppose that since like half of the final scene is written, I will decide (FINALLY) on what I want the outcome and plot to be, and I will let it out in the next chapter. Well, this is actually good, in a way. …but dang, I really wanted that final scene in this chapter. Oh well.

I am trying so very hard to make sure that Sora is just like a filler-arc character (You know…one that people actually LIKE for once). That is the way this story is set up: that this is written in the similar style to canon, and that the time sequence is that it could fit snugly between the two major turning-point arcs. That is the whole point.

Which means: 1. She will NOT be permanent member to the crew. That would be lame in my case.

2. She will NOT kill anyone (yes, not even Usopp or Luffy).

3. She will NOT fall in love with any of the crew (not vouching for vise-versa though…hehe).

Also, I am not saying these things because I have been told about them, I am saying them because I want to, and I want to make sure that people understand what I'm doing…since apparently I'm easily misunderstood... Sora is a rather…Unusual OC however. I don't know how it looks to people reading it, but to me, she just Feels different than other OCs I've read/seen. At least, that is how I've tried to make her. Maybe I'm just crazy, but who knows.::

Is anyone out there still ALIVE after reading this really loooooooonnng A/N? Wow…if I were any readers out there, I SO would not want to read this author's note…it is horridly long…There, now that I'm done with my heartfelt and emotional speeches, I will go and eat some chocolate. Laters!

The author would like to thank you for your continued support. Your review has been posted.